In wireless communication such as wireless local area networks (LANs) based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series of standards, there are a large number of setting items to be set before use.
Examples of the setting items include communication parameters necessary for wireless communication, such as a service set identifier (SSID) serving as a network identifier (ID), an encryption method, an encryption key, an authentication method, and an authentication key. It is troublesome for users to set all of them by manual input. Many manufacturers have developed automatic setting methods for easily setting communication parameters in wireless devices. The automatic setting methods allow automatic setting of communication parameters by providing the communication parameters from one device to another device using a predetermined procedure and using messages.
NPL 1 discloses a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), which is an industry standard specification for automatic setting of communication parameters between an access point (base station) and a station (terminal station). There are methods as follows to configure WPS: a push button method and a personal identification number (PIN) method. In the push button method, a button is pressed on both devices. In the PIN method, a predetermined PIN code is set in both the Registrar and the Enrollee and communication parameters are set between devices having matching PIN codes.